Pirates Fall to No. 1 South Carolina, 73-36

Saturday, December 30

Greenville, N.C.

12 PM

East Carolina University

7-4,0-0AAC

South Carolina

12-0,0-0SEC

South Carolina

East Carolina

December 30, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina women's basketball team battled hard but ultimately fell to No. 1 South Carolina, 73-36, on Saturday afternoon in Minges Coliseum. South Carolina put three scorers in double figures while the Pirates shot just 19.4 percent from the floor for the ballgame.

The Pirates (7-4) opened the game strong, feeding off of the energy of an electric crowd and taking a 6-6 tie into the first media timeout. It was going to that media break that ECU lost Micah Dennis to an injury, she would not return to the game and her absence was felt. South Carolina (12-0) put on a spurt to take a 14-8 lead into the second quarter where they would explode, jumping out to a 36-18 halftime lead.

The Gamecocks led by as many as 21 in the second quarter and really opened up their offense, knocking down three of their five attempts from behind the arc, all while continuing their tenacious defense, limiting the Pirates to just 4-15 from the field.

Amiya Joyner, to her credit, was fabulous in the first half. The sophomore led all scorers with 10 points along with a pair of rebounds and a steal despite being a focal point of South Carolina's rebounding efforts. Thanks in part to her efforts and the attention needed to box her out, the Pirates were only out-rebounded by four in the opening 20 minutes of the game.

The Gamecocks game out halftime and picked up where they left off, forcing an ECU timeout just 2:04 into the third quarter thanks to a 6-0 run. The effort remained high for the Pirates, but the size and athleticism of South Carolina became a real issue in that third quarter as no ECU shot was taken without a serious contest and the Gamecocks got many of their points out of transition offense.

A big part in the Pirates' struggle to score the ball Saturday must be attributed to South Carolina's defensive focus on Danae McNeal. McNeal, who entered the game scoring 19.5 points per game, was frustrated by the relentless defense of the Gamecocks, scoring just five points on 2-16 from the field while dealing with foul trouble for much of the second half.

Joyner, too, was hampered by cramping in the second half en route to finishing the day with 10 points, six rebounds and a steal.

The Pirates did finish the game strong, holding South Carolina to just 13 points in the fourth quarter to hold the margin under 40 against a Gamecocks group with a scoring margin over 41. Karina Gordon helped the effort with a pair of threes in the second half as she continued a solid run of shooting of late, finishing with nine points in the game.

Notable Numbers

5,717 fans in attendance were the fifth most in program history and the highest ever for a non-Education Day game.
The Pirates limited themselves to 13 turnovers in the game but forced only 11 for South Carolina.
The two teams combined to miss 29 free throws in the game – 13 for ECU and 16 for South Carolina.

Up Next
The Pirates open American Athletic Conference play on Tuesday as they host the UTSA Roadrunners for a 6 p.m. tip. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.